A social venue for those living with isolation.

[AsheSkyler]

How about linoleum? Some linoleum I've walked on is a touch springy, and not as prone to echoing like pure wood or tile. But like wood and tile, easier to clean than carpet. The only issue I can think of is that it can tear easy if treated too roughly by chair and table legs.

I'm one of those that likes open chairs. No arms. Because I am most comfortable sitting cross-legged and arms make my knees have to stay in that painful half-cocked position that's prone to cutting circulation to my legs. Even though I'm a few thousand miles away and will never see the pretty café. You could do a mix. My office has both open and closed chairs, usually one per room, and the waiting room is a bit mixed too.

 

[Spiller]

How about linoleum? Some linoleum I've walked on is a touch springy, and not as prone to echoing like pure wood or tile. But like wood and tile, easier to clean than carpet. The only issue I can think of is that it can tear easy if treated too roughly by chair and table legs.

I'm one of those that likes open chairs. No arms. Because I am most comfortable sitting cross-legged and arms make my knees have to stay in that painful half-cocked position that's prone to cutting circulation to my legs. Even though I'm a few thousand miles away and will never see the pretty café. You could do a mix. My office has both open and closed chairs, usually one per room, and the waiting room is a bit mixed too.

I had linoleum at my last shop and was replacing it every 18 months, it wears so quickly There's the tough linoleum they use for hospital floors, though that'd be really echoey.. I'm leaning toward laminated flooring currently.
I want a choice of furnishings, from sofas, open, padded wooden chairs and I've seen solid foam cubes you can put where you like.
I'll post a video walk through when it's a reality

Good point. If a charitable enterprise can get rent reduction in a more prime location, that does solve a major concern. The UK system is so much more compassionate than ours is here in the States.



Another thing we don't have here, since our health system isn't nationalized. I'm not sure how far you've come with a rough business plan as yet, but just out of curiosity, if you had to describe your vision in a single sentence, how would you?

Since you would have public funding, would you be looking for help from government agencies to alert your target clientele about the existence of your business? From your discussions with other project managers, do you have any indication of whether there is a mechanism currently in place for that sort of communication? I was wondering how you might go about attracting people who are by definition isolated from the community.

Also, what are you thinking in terms of making the place appealing to able-bodied clientele? Would you be expecting that the majority of these would be companions of people in your target market, or would you ideally also be looking to attract customers from the general population? If the latter, have you considered how you would make those customers feel comfortable that your business is also for them? A high street location would have good foot traffic, and revenue from general consumers would certainly help offset your costs. Convincing them that your location would be better than going elsewhere might be tricky if any of the interior that was visible through your windows appeared to be something other than a regular coffee shop. I don't mean to nitpick. I'm just thinking more about your wish for community integration.

I want this place to appeal to the elderly as well as Abled and I notice a split between trendy coffee shops like Costas and quieter places, so it may be that I appeal to the less trendy segment, as it were - I expect it to be unlikely this'll be appealing to a large portion of the general population, but prices, comfort, loyalty and word of mouth via anyone who tries the place - after all, Ableds like a quiet place and a charitable cause too - will have a large impact.. 85% of my old custom was word-of-mouth - I went from spending £2-3000 per year on advertising to £2-300 and was still booked well in advance.
The 'no carpets and foot pads for furniture' tips have been added to my list of details and the one sentence description and shop name, to my 'sleep on it' list.

 

[Tia Maria]

Spiller, what kind of shop or business did you run previously? If it was any kind of food & beverage place, what was the square footage of that location? (PS - this project will be keeping you busy! )

 

[Spiller]

Spiller, what kind of shop or business did you run previously? If it was any kind of food & beverage place, what was the square footage of that location? (PS - this project will be keeping you busy! )

I was a tattoo artist and body piercer for 25 years Tia, my studio was approx. 750 sq/ft, £500 p/m rent, just off the high street - before I began to burnout it was one of the busiest in the area.
I'm looking at this new project as a.. goal, something to aim for to set me back on my feet and the experience, qualifications and knowledge I need to gain to achieve it, the journey toward that goal. What excites me about this is that the goal itself is just the beginning.. so yes indeed, I'm going to get busy.